Pierre Bourdieu’s field theory is a strong account of how human action can be understood based on the principle that negotiates between structural, relational, and cognitive dimensions within the social world. With his central notion of fields, Bourdieu provides social scientists and economists, a way to transcend the dichotomies that shape theoretical thinking about human conduct and its innovative potentials. This chapter is dedicated to locate the position of the notion of field with respect to major schools of thought, and in particular to the embeddedness tradition that addresses similar questions on the social structuring of human behavior.

Background: The fields of demography, sociology, and socio-psychology have been increasingly drawing on social network theories, which posit that individual fertility decision-making depends in part on the fertility behavior of other members of the population, and on the structure of the interactions between individuals. After reviewing this literature, we highlight the benefits of taking a social network perspective on fertility and family research.
Objective: We review the literature that addresses the extent to which social mechanisms, such as social learning, social pressure, social contagion, and social support, influence childbearing decisions. Methods: We review the most recent contributions of the social networks approach for the explanation of fertility dynamics in contemporary post-industrial societies.
Conclusions: We find that all of the social mechanisms reviewed influence the beliefs and norms individuals hold regarding childbearing, their perceptions of having children, and the context of opportunities and constraints in which childbearing choices are made. The actual impact of these mechanisms on fertility tempo and quantum strongly depends on the structure of social interaction.

Character strengths are morally, positively, valued traits that are related to several positive life outcomes. In this study, the Character Strengths Rating Form (CSRF), a 24-item rating form of character strengths based on the classification proposed by Peterson and Seligman (2004), was developed using the data of 211 German-speaking adults. The CSRF yielded good convergence with Peterson and Seligman’s Values in Action Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS) in terms of descriptive statistics, relationships with socio-demographic variables, and associations with life satisfaction; the means correlated .91, and standard deviations correlated .80. Correlations between corresponding strengths in the CSRF and the VIA-IS were between .41 and .77. Rank-order correlations of the correlations of both measures with age, education, and life satisfaction were .74, .76, and .84, respectively. Factor structure congruence coefficients ranged between .92 and .99. The rank-order correlation of the associations of the 5 factors with life satisfaction was .90. The CSRF proved to be a valid instrument for the assessment of character strengths. Its use is recommended for a brief measurement of character strengths when economy of instruments is at a premium (e.g., in large-scale longitudinal studies).

Background: Multimorbidity can be operationalized as the presence of multiple psychosomatic symptoms and has been shown to be detrimental to the quality of life across the life span. Middle-aged adults are generally engaged in multiple life domains simultaneously. This is one of the developmental challenges of middle adulthood as it can lead to conflict between the demands of different domains and, in turn, contribute to multiple psychosomatic symptoms, thereby diminishing the quality of life. This may be particularly true for women. Facilitation between life domains may serve to reduce the number of psychosomatic symptoms. However, this subject has been largely neglected in the literature. Objective: We aimed to close this gap by investigating the influence of conflict and facilitation between life domains (work, family, leisure) on self-reported psychosomatic symptoms in middle-aged women and men. Methods: Life domain conflict/facilitation and psychosomatic symptoms were assessed via self-report in a cross-sectional study with 277 adults aged 30-55 years (mean = 41.70, SD = 7.2; 56.7% women) who all worked at least 30 h/week and lived with their partner or family. Results: In line with our hypothesis, women reported more psychosomatic symptoms when they experienced conflict between life domains. However, contrary to expectation, they did not profit more from facilitation than men and, at low levels of facilitation, women even reported more psychosomatic symptoms than men. In men, there was no association between life domain conflict/facilitation and psychosomatic symptoms. The results were robust when statistically controlling for neuroticism. Conclusions: Engagement in multiple life domains influences the frequency of psychosomatic symptoms in women, but not in men: women suffer more and profit less than men from combining work, family and leisure.

In this paper we investigate the nexus between firm labor diversity and innovation using data on patent applications filed by firms at the European Patent Office and a linked employer-employee database from Denmark. Exploiting the information retrieved from these comprehensive data sets and implementing proper instrumental variable strategies, we estimate the contribution of workers' diversity in cultural background, education and demographic characteristics to valuable firm's innovation activity. Specifically, we find evidence supporting the hypothesis that ethnic diversity may facilitate firms' patenting activity in several ways by: (a) increasing the propensity to (apply for a) patent, (b) increasing the overall number of patent applications and (c) by enlarging the breadth of patenting technological fields, conditional on patenting. Several robustness checks corroborate the main findings.

Different fields of psychology have shown that future time perspective (FTP) has an important role in changing individual attitudes and behaviours. However, recent societal conditions, like the economic crises of the Western world, may have changed the meaning itself of the future, passing from hope to threat. This article discusses possible consequences of this change of sign of the future and the implications of future time perspective as an educational strategy in multicultural context. Synthesizing the concepts of future time orientation and generativity, a distinction between personal and social FTP is proposed. Whereas personal FTP is oriented to personal achievement and can be embedded into the Western culture but not into other cultures, social FTP is proposed as a resource for community building. Social FTP stresses the importance of the survival of the community, focusing on long-term and inclusive goals which transcend individual personal achievement. Social FTP is proposed as a cross-cultural tool for improving intergroup and interpersonal relations.

Research on gelotophobia (the fear of being laughed at) has come a long way since the first empirical studies published in 2008. Based on a review of the findings on gelotophobia, its structure, causes and consequences, updates to the model are introduced emphasizing the context of the fear and its dynamic nature. More precisely, external and internal factors are seen to moderate the effects of initial events on gelotophobia, and a spiral nature in the development of the fear is assumed. It is highlighted that gelotophobia needs to be studied in the context of related variables (such as timidity, shame-proneness and social anxiety), and research should focus on the time span in which this fear is most prevalent. The relevance of gelotophobia for humor theory, research and practice is highlighted and new areas of research are introduced. Among the latter the role of gelotophobia at work and in relation to life trajectories is discussed.

The worst performance rule (WPR) predicts that the slowest trials in reaction time (RT) tasks are more strongly related to intelligence than the fastest trials. To date, the WPR was observed mainly in young adults. The present study examined if the WPR holds not only in young adults but also in children and older adults in three kinds of RT tasks (simple RT, choice RT, and inhibition). Results showed that in each age group slowest and fastest trials were related to intelligence but the former correlated with intelligence to a greater extent than the latter. These results support the assumption that the WPR can be generalized across the lifespan.

This article questions the relevance of the notion of generation to describe the cohort who lives in Beijing and who was born in the 1980s and early 1990s, after the implementation of the reforms and opening-up policy in China. The analysis relies on 627 questionnaires collected in Beijing in 2010. The sample was stratified by age and sex, and, based on quotas; it was split into five age groups (18-26 year-olds, 33-41 year-olds, 48-56 year-olds, 63-71 year-olds and 78-86 year-olds). The respondents were questioned on their perception of turning points and socio-historical changes that occurred during their lifetime. After having analysed the data in a comparative perspective, we came to conclusion that the word generation is suitable to describe the young people from Beijing born in the 1980s and early 1990s not only because they do share autobiographical and collective historical memories, but also because these memories have by and large taken place between their adolescence and entry into adulthood (supporting the hypothesis of the existence of a reminiscence bump).

This paper analyzes the determinants of women on the boards of directors based on a panel sample of all Danish companies in the private sector with more than 50 employees. The share of women on the boards of directors was 12 percent in 2007 and has only slowly increased during the period 1997-2007. We test three hypotheses on female board representation which we denote the female-led hypothesis, the tokenism hypothesis, and the pipeline hypothesis, respectively. Based on fixed effects estimation we find that the female- led hypothesis cannot be supported. Firms with a female chairman of the board of directors tend to have significantly fewer other non-staff board members. We find clear evidence of a tokenism behavior in Danish companies. Having one non-staff woman on the board is negatively related to the chance of hiring another woman for the board of directors. Finally, the pipeline hypothesis is partly confirmed. The share of women among the group of CEOs and VPs from other firms in the industry is positively related to having a women on the board.

This paper investigates the relationship between gender of the CEO and composition of the board of directors (female chairman and share of women in the boardroom) and firm’s risk attitudes measured as variability in four firm outcome variables (investments, profits, return to equity, and sales). Using a merged employer-employee panel sample of Danish companies with more than 50 employees, we find extensive evidence of a negative association between female CEO and firm’s risk attitudes. This finding might be consistent with the theoretical assumption according to which women typically present a substantially higher risk aversion profile and put more effort in monitoring firm activities than men in the financial matter domains. A number of robustness checks corroborate and better explain our main findings.

Far from the vision of popular actors in the popular economy as reactionary and archaic, stubbornly resisting any move towards change, this book's overall aim is to contribute to a broadening and deepening of our understanding of the logic and socio-economic practices of those operating in the informal economy. It focuses on the vulnerabilities of these participants, resulting from high exposure to different risks combined with low social protection, and on the interactions between vulnerability and poverty. It considers security of livelihoods as the guiding principle for multiple practices in the informal economy. Thirteen studies, based on careful analyses of empirical data in different contexts in Africa, Latin America, and Asia, contribute to this multidisciplinary discussion.

This book describes how people develop their own strategies to solve their problems through the use of interpersonal networks, associations, and other community-based arrangements. Moreover, it shows that informal economy actors systematically reposition themselves vis-à-vis the State, markets, international, and national policies with the aim of enhancing their economic and social security, and they may do this either individually or collectively. The book emphasizes how adaptability of the informal economy can be influenced by such factors as the macroeconomic context, access to financial, technological, and information resources, infrastructure, social protection schemes, and the institutional environment within which adaptations occur. Case studies stress the need to reformulate questions relating to policy intervention based on a more thorough understanding of the perspective of informal economy actors.

Table of contents
Dharam Ghai: Foreword
1: Isabelle Hillenkamp, Frédéric Lapeyre, and Andreia Lemaître: Introduction: Informal Economy, Vulnerabilities, and Popular Security-Enhancing Practices
Part I. A Plurality of Socio-economic Logics: New Polanyian Approaches to Informality and Vulnerability
2: Andreia Lemaître: Popular Cooperatives and Local Development in Southeast Brazil: Towards Socio-Economic Pluralism
3: Isabelle Hillenkamp: Solidarity and Protection in Bolivian Popular Economy
4: Gonzalo Vázquez: Self-managed Work, Social Protection, and Community Development: The Case of the UST Cooperative (Argentina)
5: Maïté le Polain and Marthe Nyssens: An Analysis of the Socio-economic Logics Underpinning Formal and Informal Strategies for Coping with Economic Hardships in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Part II. The Role of Financial Practices and Institutions in Securing Livelihoods
6: Hadrien Saiag: Financial Practices as Adaptations to Increasing Vulnerability: The Dynamics of Solidarity and Protection in the Suburbs of Rosario, Argentina
7: Genauto Carvalho de França Filho, Ariádne Scalfoni Rigo, and Jeová Torres Silva Júnior: Microcredit Policies in Brazil: An Analysis of Community Development Banks
8: Solène Morvant-Roux, Isabelle Guérin, and Marc Roesch: Demand for Microcredit, Informal Finance and Vulnerability in Rural Morocco
9: Pierre-Germain Umuhire and Marthe Nyssens: Informal and Formal Microfinance in Urban Sub-Saharan African Markets: The Case of Micro-Entrepreneurs in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
10: Edoardo Totolo: Exploring the Black-Box of Economic Informality: Social Networks and Institutional Change among Micro and Small Enterprises in Nairobi, Kenya
Part III. Formalizing the Informal? A Critical Assessment
11: James Heintz and Lynda Pickbourn: Determinants of Earnings in Informal Self-Employment: The Case of Ghana
12: Sergio Ferragut and Georgina M. Gómez: From the Street to the Store. The Formalization of Street Vendors in Quito, Ecuador
13: An Ansoms and Jude Murison: Formalizing the Informal in Rwanda: From Artisanal to Modern Brick and Tile Ovens
14: Basak Kus: Neoliberal Reforms, Regulatory Change and the Informal Economy: The Case of Turkey from a Comparative Perspective Jean-Philippe Peemans: Postface: Another Look at the Informal Sector, its Many Stakes and Challenges

This article investigates the ways in which male florists mobilise, neutralise or challenge sex category membership in the course of their daily activities. Our main interest lies in the idea that individuals invest gender norms with varying levels of salience in specific social contexts. We therefore focus on the ways in which male florists account for their professional activities in normative gende­red ways, whilst also stressing the opportunities for challenging gender norms that are associated with the minority status of being a man in a highly feminised occupation. Our findings will suggest that the concept of “accountability”, combining the dimensions of orientation to sex category, gender assessment and enforcement (Hollander, 2013), provides a useful framework for analysing situations that apparently do not correspond to gender accomplishment in the normative sense of the term. In conclusion, we show that the accountability of male florists to sex categories and gender norms varies considerably, according to the particular dimension of their experiences studied and that in this sense, sex category membership is activated, neutralised or challenged with varying levels of intensity on the different scenes of professional florists.